Electric railway



(No Model.)

C. J. VAN DEPOELE.

i ELECTRIC RAILWAY. No. 324,899. Patented Aug. 25, 1885.

N rErERs. Pham-Lixhgguphur. wamngmn, D. D.

CHARLES J. VAN DEFOELE, OF CHICAGO, lLLINOIS.

ELECTRIC RAILWAY.

SPECIFICATION forming part-of Letters Patent No. 324,899, dated August 25, 1885.

Application tiled January l0, 1385.

T0 all whom, it may concern:

Beit known that I, CHARLES J. VAN DE PoELE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county ot' Cook and State ot Illinois, have invented certain new and useiul Improvements in Electric Railways, ot y which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawing.

The present invention relates to improvements in means for manipulating and controlling the propelling and rctarding mechanism ot' any railway that is wholly or partially operated by the use ot' electric apparatus; and it consists in so constructing and applying the propelling motor and a series ot' electroi magnetic brakes that by reversing the brushes of the motor with respect to the line ot' commutation and closing the brake-circuit upon the motorcircuit, the armature will be forcibly rotated by the momentum of the vehicles to be stopped, and the motor thereby con' verted into a generator, the current from which willpass through the coils ot' the brake magnet, energizing the same and applying the brakes to the wheels with a force propoi tionate to the speed oi' the train. rlhe same arrangement i may be utilized upon railways operated by steam or horse power, the motor being arranged and operating in precisely the same manner, except that no connections with any external source of electricity will be necessary. By the insertion ot' a variable resistance between the motor and the coils of the brakemagnet the resistance ot' said circuit can be varied so as to allow the held-magnets of the motor to become more or less energized, and thereby to increase or decrease the retarding action ot the armature itself, which, as will be evident, can be used as a brake without the aid of anything more than a resistance-circuit closed upon the motor-circuit, which resistance should be variable, in the irst instance, for obvious reasons.

The accompanying drawing is a view in elevation of apparatus embodying my invention, in which A represents the track or roadway 5 B, a car carrying the motor C, which is connected to the wheels C of said car by a belt, C2, which passes around a pulley, D, secured on the axis of the armature ofthe motor, and also around pulleys D secured to the axles of the wheels C. D2 D3 are contact-brushes lead (N0 model.)

ing to the source ot' electricity. E is a second car, and both are provided with an electromagnetic brake, consisting ot' the solenoid F, having a movable sott-iron core or plunger, j", suitable, brake-shoes G- G, bearing against the wheels H, and the intermediate connections, g g, extending between and properly pivoted to the plungerf, the said shoes G being suitably supported by hangers J or other well-known means.

From the binding-posts P and N of the motor the conductors l and 7 and S, which latter also include the variable resistance l/V and a iminual-switch, 2, extend to the contacts K la, which may be double, as shown, or simply a strip ot' the desired length. A similar pair of contacts, M O, are located in proxin'lity to the contacts K L, and between the two sets is located a suitable switch, which,in this instance, is shown as having two arms, Q R, centrally pivoted and connected by cross-bar S, suitably insulated. rlhe brushes D2 D3 make contact with a suitable source of electricity and connect with contacts M O through conductors 3 4 with contacts T U, located in the path of the switches Q, R. (See Patent No. 285,858, October 2, 1883.) 'lhe coils of the solenoids F are connected with contacts M O through condnctors 5 G.

The contacts being arranged as described, or according to any of the many other equally convenient plans that will readily suggest themselves to the practiced electrician, I ani enabled to place the switch in position to close the brakecircuit through the motorconductors l, 7, and S, contacts K M L O, conductors 5 (3, and the solenoids F, thereby cutting out the source of supply-contacts T U, when, by reversing the positions ot' the commutator-brushes Y with respect to the line ot' commutation by means ot' a suitable lever, Z, the car D being in motion,y the motor, which is of the type which is converted into a generator, a current is sent to the solenoids F, which at once raise their cores f and the devices thereto attached with a force proportionate to the speed ot' the car. By shifting the switch from the contacts K M L O to the source of supply 'l U and thence to contacts lM O, the solenoids F will receive current direct from the main current and the brakes be applied without aid from the motor, said mo- IOO tor being then either cut out entirely, as indicated, or receiving current through independent switching devices. (Not shown.) \'Vhen the switch is in the position shownviz., supply-contacts 'l U, and the motor-contacts l( L-the main current is passing directly through the said motor, which can then be put in forward or backward movement, as desired, by moving the brushes Y through the handle Z.

The variable resistance \V, which is prefer ably located in the motor-circuit, is adapted to be included therein to any extent or cut out entirely, enabling it to be used both to regulate the power ot' the motor while propelling the cars and to control the current in the brake-cireuit when said motor is acting` as a generator. lt is also extremely useful when the brake mechanism is absent or out i of order, for in such case by closing the brakecircuit in any well-known manner or by otherwise closing the motor-circuit the resistance \V will be closed upon the motor-circuit. rlhc positions ofthe commutator-brushes are then to be shifted, and more or less of the resistance placed in the generating-circuit so ereated, which, by allowing the field-magnet coils and armature ot' the motor to become energized to a greater or less extent, will offer greater or less resistance to the rotation ol" its armature by the wheels ofthe moving car. The variable resistance is also extremely useful in controlling the power ot the solenoids, for, by means thereof, the currentpassing through said solenoids can be regulated to a nicety and at the same time more or less (the desired) resistance can be maintained in the generator-circuit.

Instead of shifting the brushes on the metor the current in the field-magnets can be reversed, with respect to the armature, thus changing the motor to a generator, without departing from the spirit ot my invention.

What l claim is* l. In a system of electric railways, the combination of a motor receiving current from a source of electricity as long as it is necessary to propel the train, with proper means for cutting out the motor from said source ot' electricity when it shall be necessary to stop said train, andmeans for reversing the brushes of and thereby converting the motor into a generator while under headway, and for closing the 1notor-circuit upon one or more electric brakes, when the current produced by said motor, acting as a generator, will aetuate said brakes and stop the train, substantially as set forth.

2. In electric railways, the combination, with a motor, a car, and means for supplying a current to the motor for propellingl said car, ot an electro-magnetic brake and connections between the coils of said brake and the bindingposts of the motor, and means, substantially as described, for cutting` ott' the propelling current and for carryingcnrrent generated by forcible rotation of the armature of the motor to the brake circuit, as described.

3. lu electric railways, the combination ot a generator, a ear, means for forcibly rotating the armature of the generator by the momentum of the car, an electro-magnetic brake or series of brakes, and connections between the coils of said brake or brakes and the brakecircuit, means for shil'ting the commutatorbrushes, and suitable switches for carrying the current produced by the forcible rotation ofthe armature of the generator to the brakecircuit, as set forth.

4. lnelectric railways, the con'ibiuation, with a motor, a car, means for supplying current to the motor for propelling the car, an electromagnetic brake or series of brakes, and counections-between the coils of said brake or brakes and the binding-posts ot' the genera tor, and an adjustable resistance included in the brake-circuit, of means for reversing the commutator-brushes and suitable switches for cutting out the propelling current and for carrying the current generated by forcible rotation ot' the armature ot' the motor, acting as a generator, to the brakecircuit, as set forth.

1n testimony whereof I affix my signature i in presence ot two witnesses.

CHARLES J. VANDICPUIGLIG.

\Vitnesses:

AAnoN IK. S'riLns, ALnxANnnn J. lt. Flaco. 

